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How will I know that the market has bottomed and it’s time to jump back in? There are the five key characteristics I look for—characteristics that have appeared at nearly every major market bottom for the past 70 years. Here they are.

Disney (DIS), which owns the rights to Star Wars, is one of the most talked about stocks in the market in the last several months as the newest movie release has shattered box office records. However, there have been growing concerns about DIS stock. Because of these growing concerns about the television business, I might look to buy a Call option on DIS rather than buy the stock.

Perhaps most difficult for the average investor this year is that even the sectors and stocks considered to be safe have been decimated. When steady stocks such as Wal-Mart (down 30% year-to-date), ConocoPhillips (down 22% year-to-date) and Alcoa (down 40% year-to-date) are getting destroyed, it can be alarming. Can an investor who wants to own Nordstrom stock protect himself from the downside? Yes—by buying puts.

Apple may be the most respected consumer electronics brand in the world. Its users are loyal. Its premium pricing means it’s a very profitable company, with after-tax profit margins of 21.6% in the latest quarter. But there are a couple of reasons why I think AAPL might not be the best investment.

Perhaps the only consistency in the oil market is a lack thereof. The repeating pattern of boom and bust has played out over and over again, regardless of time and place. Oil stocks from the U.S. to Africa to the Middle East to the South Pacific do the same thing. Predicting when and how long each cycle lasts is impossible. But that doesn’t stop investors from trying! The potential gains from the booms are just too juicy.

Is the Santa Claus Rally real? It’s a decent question this time of year, especially this year.

Tomorrow the Fed is expected to raise interest rates for the first time in many years. What the market will do in reaction is literally anyone’s guess. That said, I can use the options market to price-in expected moves and risks.

I scanned my database to find 10 stocks with the right credentials to perform very well in 2016. My top 10 picks are stocks of U.S. companies with exceptional prospects for 2016. All of my stock selections are selling at bargain prices, and all have the potential to easily beat the stock market indexes in 2016!

Beaten-down stocks such as Chipotle (CMG) and Yahoo (YHOO) can sometimes make good value investments. But not all beaten-down stocks are created equal.

There are a lot of things that are improved with a little pumpkin. Freshly baked pumpkin and apple muffins and of course, pumpkin pie, are on the top of the list. Companies that make flavorings are as varied as the industry itself. Here is the list of 3 flavorful stocks to spice up your portfolio.

While the vast majority of my research involves growth stocks, I do keep an eye out for potential turnaround situations. Why? Because historically, about one out of every five or six big winners will be a turnaround situation—especially in so-so economic times. (In the late 1990s, by contrast, almost all the big winners were growth stocks.) So, even though I never, ever (ever!) buy stocks and sectors that are in longer-term downtrends, I do keep an eye on them for signs that they’re turning higher. That leads me to energy and gold stocks.